Sunday, April 15, 2012

"No Carrots!"

This scene proves that Milt Kahl was capable of animating most subtle and realistic acting extremely well.

Prince Phillip has just fallen off his horse Samson into the water, and he is not amused. The previously promised carrots for Samson are not going to be handed out.

Some of you might know that Milt absolutely despised working on the prince. During one of our get togethers I asked him, how he could do such a beautiful job on a character he loathes.

To my best recollection he said: "Well, the character needs to be in the picture, I didn't like the assignment, but you do the best you can."

That's saying something about Milt's work ethics. Whatever goes into a Disney film needs to be top notch.

The clarity in this scene is awesome. Phillip recovers from the fall, moving forward toward the horse. After Samson picks up his hat he splashes him and then says his line within a final pose. That way dialogue and the subtle raise of his eyebrows read beautifully.

By the way, this is rough animation, which was still traced in clean up for the inkers.

I can guarantee you, this is by far Milt's least favorite assignments out of all the characters he ever animated. Yet…there is absolutely no sign of frustration or lowering standards. Just look at those drawings!

When talking about high standards Milt said: " You owe it to yourself and the medium!".

Those are important words to remember!!!

PS. Blog reader XAV created a pencil test with these drawings. Check it out:https://vimeo.com/40482016

I read once where all animators were instructed during the production of Sleeping Beauty to "draw cleaner". It certainly shows in Milt's work on the prince. He might have despised the assignment, but Milt certainly wasn't out to leave a legacy of sloppy artistry behind him. Far from it!

This post is insane. Sleeping Beauty is (IMO) the most beautiful animated movie ever. It is kind of like a ridiculously awesome masterpiece. Seeing Milt's roughs AND a cel from the film? I feel like I have just been in a museum. My favorite post so far I think.

This scene is so memorable! Comical, yet very gracefully drawn. The expression on his face is priceless! However, I'm surprised Milt didn't like Philip – for a secondary prince character, he really stands out. And Samson is simply an awesome horse! BTW, where do you get all these great drawings and stuff? (Besides the obvious fact that you have access to them :)

And I made a linetest video based on the movie timing (which is a little bit different) with sound and I tried to replace the drawings on the peg holes.Tell me if you have a problem with me hosting the video and I'll delate it.

When I was an animation student, I was drilled about avoiding tangents, and using overlapping shapes effectively.All of these drawings are perfect in that respect. nobody followed the "rules" of good animation drawing better than milt. Great Great Great!Thanks fer sharing so many of the drawings....

Bal stands for balance. Milt would do a partial drawing, in this case he would sometimes not draw the lower body if it doesn't move. The assistant then traces the missing lines (balance) from a previous drawing.

Fantastic post! Every time I watch Sleeping Beauty, it seems like I find something new to love and appreciate ... these sketches are no exception! :) I'm curious, though; why was Prince Phillip Milt Kahl's least favorite assignment?

Hi Andreas...love that scene. It was beautifully animated by Milt and combined with the simplicity of his design, the "carrots" dialogue...you really see how he pulls out a unique side of Phillips character. I should mention that I have an multicellular setup from this scene as well in my collection and it really shows the wonderful relationship between the two. If you would like to see it just let me know, happy to share!